It’s not often that you see a superstar player throw out his own hypothetical trade destination, but that’s exactly what Damian Lillard did.
The Portland Trail Blazers franchise player appeared on an episode of The Last Stand Podcast by Showtime Basketball and didn’t shy away from a game of “what if.” When asked which trade he’d feel best about between New York, Brooklyn, and Miami, Lillard gave a brutally honest answer.
“Miami, obviously. Miami is the obvious one. Bam is my dawg … Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dawg, too. And both have capable rosters,” Lillard told host Brian Custer.
You can check out the moment here:
Now, to be clear, Lillard was then asked whether he believed he’d be wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey when the 2023-24 season tips off. And he responded with a very simple: “I do.”
Still, it’s undoubtedly noteworthy whenever an All-Star player openly speaks about possible landing spots, especially one who’s in Lillard’s situation. While both Lillard and the Trail Blazers have denied trade speculation for years, it has exited for a reason. The organization has struggled time and again to capitalize on Lillard’s elite skills. Not only have they missed the postseason the past two years, but they failed to make it out of the first round in four of five tries from 2016-17 to 2020-21.
The fact Portland has also accumulated several young assets has only made more people wonder if it’s a natural time to pick a new path. They drafted promising young wing Shaedon Sharpe with the No. 6 pick in the draft last season, and they’ll now have the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft later this month. Up until this point, however, all rumors have centered around Portland’s desire to trade that highly-coveted selection for veteran pieces to put around Lillard.
No matter which direction the Trail Blazers decide to go, the ramifications could be significant for Chicago. For example, if they decide to keep Lillard, who’s to say Portland doesn’t call about guys like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine? There also could be conversations about the future draft pick they owe the Bulls. Sent in the three-team Lauri Markkanen deal that included the Cavs, that future first-rounder is restricting Portland’s ability to trade any other future firsts. And that could be a huge problem as they look to keep building a competitive roster.
If they decide to pivot and trade Damian Lillard, we now have a possible list of landing spots. Oh, and all those landing spots happen to be in an already highly-competitive Eastern Conference. Yippie!